Stories from Wednesday, February 7, 2001

Pie is a delightful dessert any time of the year, and if you are like my husband, apple is at the top of the list. Many times I think of apple pie as a fall favorite, but this apple pie I will share with you is wonderful any day, or as Scott would say, everyday...

An amusement center owner's days of fun in Cape Girardeau may be numbered. Long-term plans for operating the Fun Factory are dead, owner Marion Williams said, pending a hearing before the Missouri Appeals Court that will determine whether his business violates a restrictive easement being enforced by neighboring K's Merchandise Mart...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Though their farms are outside the city limits, Butch Meier and Karen McCullough proudly consider themselves members of the Jackson community. Meier's farm goes back five generations, McCullough's four. They love the city. But they don't want the city's water lines crossing property they intend to keep in agricultural use for generations...

Cell tower confusion has led to shocking bills for some Verizon Wireless cellular phone users in the Cape Girardeau area. One user counted 133 calls from Carbondale, Ill., on a recent bill without having been there. Another user said he got a call from outside of the area and paid a roaming charge for receiving it...

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson - Federal Building Room 246; 339 Broadway; Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63701. Phone: 573-335-0101 - 326 Cannon Building; Washington, D.C., 20515; Phone: 202-225-4404 - joann.emerson@mail.house.gov U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond - Southeast Missouri District Office; Federal Building Room 140...

Nine area child care providers are among the first in the region to obtain the Child Development Associate national credential through a new state-backed program. The Council for Professional Recognition, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which represents early childhood professions, awarded the CDA to: Janet Cattron, owner, The Bus Stop Child Care in Fruitland, Mo.; Nicole Siebert, teacher, Montessori School; Cathy Clark, co-owner, A Small World Preschool; Herice McClinton, owner, Precious Times Daycare; Marilyn McFerren, owner, Ms. ...

A new, electronic comment form that allows Cape Girardeau residents to submit budget suggestions to the city is not generating the response officials hoped it would. "We've received exactly two," said Assistant City Manager Walter Denton. "They both came in on Jan. 16. We haven't received any since."...

Chuck Howell, president and CEO of Corporate Airlines (Trans World Express) will be guest speaker at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Coffee Friday. The regular "First Friday" Coffee was postponed last week . Corporate Airlines, a private company with headquarters in Smyrna, Tennessee, started operations in December of 1996...

Charles Brame, an Abraham Lincoln look-alike and former Cape Girardeau resident, will portray Honest Abe in an episode of the "Drew Carey Show" to be broadcast at 8 p.m. Wednesday on the ABC network. Brame has been portraying Lincoln for many years and recently presented programs on the president at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Rep. Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, called on Gov. Bob Holden Tuesday to seek a investigation into the recent beating death of 3-year-old Ozshana Dukes of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell has also asked for an investigation by the Division of Family Services...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson's Ray Goodson and Caleb Daniel will be signing letters of intent today to play football at Southeast Missouri State University. Today is the first day of the national signing period. Goodson, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound tight end, is one of the area's premier athletes. ...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Struggling at home so far in Ohio Valley Conference play, Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball team was hoping to get well on the road this week, beginning here Tuesday night. But Tennessee Tech had other ideas. The Golden Eagles, fighting for the OVC regular-season championship heading into the homestretch, took over sole possession of first place in the league with a 79-69 victory at the Eblen Center...

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The last time Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri State University met in women's basketball, the Golden Eaglettes used a 13-point second-half rally and a shot at the buzzer in overtime to prevail at the Show Me Center. Tuesday night, however, Tech needed no such late heroics. The Eaglettes, clicking on all cylinders for much of the game, built a big early lead and rolled past visiting Southeast 89-75 as they remained undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play...

JACKSON, Mo. -- Giving up isn't Cape Central's style. Trailing by 11 points with 4:57 to go in the third quarter, Cape Central could have cashed it in. After all, the Tigers weren't supposed to win anyway. Instead, the Tigers (6-14) finished the quarter on a remarkable 11-2 run and came all the way back to beat the Jackson Indians 63-55 in front of a huge, raucous crowd at Jackson High Tuesday night...

LEOPOLD, Mo. -- Leopold celebrated the return of head coach Carlton Thoma to the sideline with a 45-44 come-from-behind victory over Chaffee. Thoma, who underwent heart bypass surgery and had been out since the University High Christmas Tournament, was given a thorough medical test in the one-point victory. The Wildcats fell behind by 11 points early in the game and never led until Scott VanGennip provided the game's final points with a 3-point shot with just over a minute remaining...

At least three Cape Central Lady Tigers will be playing soccer at the next level next year. Senior twins Amber and Ashlie Voerg are planning to sign with Indiana State University today and senior goalkeeper Heather Hey recently signed with the Indiana Institute of Technology...

Daughter to Angela Dawn Sides of Oak Ridge, Mo., Southeast Missouri Hospital, 7:47 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29, 2001. Name, Faith Ann. Weight, 8 pounds 14 1/2 ounces. Second child, first daughter. Miss Sides is the daughter of Dorothy Ann Sides and Kenny Ray Sides of Oak Ridge...

TAMMS, Ill. -- Funeral for Mary Helen Carson of Tamms will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Jones Funeral Home in Tamms. Msgr. Bill McGhee will officiate. Burial will be in St. Catherine's Cemetery in Grand Chain, Ill. Friends may call at the funeral home Thursday from 11 a.m. until time of service...

Funeral for Ronald Lee Michel of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Cathedral. Msgr. Richard Rolwing will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, with graveside rites by American Legion Post 63. Friends may call at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel from 4-9 p.m. today. Parish prayers will be at 7, followed by reciting of the rosary by Knights of Columbus Council 1111...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Rose Bud Spencer, 89, of Cairo died Sunday, Feb. 4, 2001, at Day Star Care Center. She was born May 16, 1911, in Woodlawn, Miss., daughter of LeAnder and Caroline Petty Spencer. Spencer lived in Mound City, Ill., most of her life. She moved to Cairo in 1997 from Cape Girardeau...

MOREHOUSE, Mo. -- Betty Adams, 55, of Morehouse died Monday, Feb. 5, 2001, at her home. She was born May 3, 1945, at Parma, Mo., daughter of John and Ethel Stewart Talley. She and Carl Adams were married June 22, 1963. Adams had been a beautician, and was a housekeeper for various families the past several years. She was a member of Morehouse Church of Christ...

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Willagene Moore, 69, of Bloomfield died Monday, Feb. 5, 2001, at Dexter Memorial Hospital in Dexter, Mo. She was born July 4, 1931, at Bloomfield, daughter of R.E. "Jocky" and Beulah Brooks Taylor. She married Eugene Moore, who preceded her in death...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- David Harold Marr, 76, of Perryville died Monday, Feb. 5, 2001, at his home. He was born July 6, 1924, at Caledonia, Mo., son of John Jay and Stella Mae Cluff Marr. He first married Laverne Schremp Oct. 17, 1942, at Belgique, Mo. She preceded him in death. He and Anna Elizabeth Cohea were married Aug. 12, 1968, in Washington, Mo...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Funeral for John D. Sissom Jr. of Olive Branch will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Alexander Free Will Baptist Church. The Rev. Ernest Brown will officiate. Burial will be in Olive Branch Cemetery. Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill., from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, and after 10 a.m. Thursday at the church...

I READ with interest the recent survey regarding the Bush priorities. If the leading response is tax cuts at 32 percent, the second highest response is education at 21 percent and the wholesale murder of unborn children only 17 percent, I wonder about our priorities. ...

It is more blessed to give than to receive: Currently, if taxpayers want to deduct their charitable giving, they must itemize their deductions on their federal income-tax return. In lieu of itemizing, about 70 percent of taxpayers take the standard deduction. ...

Cape Girardeau public schools have the opportunity to help a group of students who need special attention: middle schoolers. The middle-school years are tough at best, disastrous at worst. These students aren't little boys and girls, but they aren't adults either. The opinions of their peers mean more than they will at any other point in their lives. And they're beginning to notice the opposite sex...

School district superintendents and financial officers found themselves on the defensive after a state audit released last week claimed Missouri taxpayers could have saved $83 million in interest on municipal and school bonds. The problem, according to the audit, was that districts didn't use competitive bidding every time they sold bonds to raise money for capital projects...

To the editor: George Rivas, one of the infamous "Texas Seven" escapees who callously murdered a Texas policeman, said in so many words: "I deserve to be put to death. I was the escapee who initiated the gunfire against the policeman." By that statement, Rivas acknowledges a truth that is denied by many misguided people today...

To the editor: This is in response to the people who seem to think that just because their kids are at school, the teachers are responsible for the way they act or talk. I am not a teacher. I am a parent. While I do know that teachers are responsible for helping our children learn, ensuring that they have a nurturing learning environment and setting a good moral example for them, there are a lot more children than there are teachers. ...